This invention relates to the art of lithium batteries, and more particularly to a new and improved solid cathode, liquid organic electrolyte lithium battery for delivering high current pulses.
One area of use of the present invention is a battery for operating an implantable cardiac defibrillator, although the principles of the present invention can be variously applied. The purpose of the implantable defibrillator is to prevent sudden death from lethal arrhythmia, and in operation the device continuously monitors the heart rate of the patient, is able to recognize ventricular fibrillation, and subsequently delivers a high energy shock to defibrillate the heart. In order to power this device, implantable high rate batteries have been developed which have the ability to deliver a current pulse and rapidly recover the open circuit voltage.
An example of a battery having high capacity, low self-discharge and good pulsing behavior at all levels is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,940. Manufacture of the cell stack assembly thereof includes, briefly, folding the anode to form a serpentine-like structure, placing individual cathode plates between the folds of the anode structure, and then making electrical connection including welding operations to individual leads of each of the plurality of cathode plates.
It would, therefore, be highly desirable to provide a new and improved high rate battery which reduces the time required to manufacture the cell stack assembly while maintaining the requisite safety and reliability standards in operation.